Major leaguers’ sons

Nick Swisher’s awful start in Chicago — he’s getting his walks but his batting average is down at the Mendoza line and the power isn’t there — raises the question, is this another Ben Grieve situation?

Both are the sons of major leaguers, first-round draft choices who rose quickly through the A’s system as can’t miss prospects. Both had early success, Grieve maybe even more so as a Rookie of the Year. And yet there were signs in Ben’s 27-HR season of 2000 that he had major holes in his swing (remember those double plays in the playoffs against the Yankees?) along with no defense. The A’s traded him to Tampa Bay, his HRs went down to 11 (stats) and a few years later, his career was over.

With Swisher, it’s different. He’s fields well enough to play center. He’s the epitome of high spirits, not calm to the point of diffidence like Grieve. And Billy Beane didn’t want to trade him, he just got offered too much to refuse. Still, Swisher’s last season in Oakland was a disappointment, and this year he’s falling off a cliff.

Theory: Talented sons of major leaguers have it so easy — great coaching from toddlerhood on, never needing a real summer job, always on the radar for promotion to the next level — that they’re way ahead of their peers. They reach the majors young and have early success. But then the league figures them out, their less advantaged peers catch up to them and they don’t know how to face adversity.

Suspect Swisher will come out of it. There’s an example for him to follow, right here in Oakland. Bobby Crosby is another major-leaguer’s son who succeeded young, then struggled, looking bad trying to pull outside pitches and seemingly too hard-headed to change. Finally, in his fifth season, he seems to be getting it.